Defending Traditional Marriage

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage. To be completely honest, I never really cared to do any research about the case (Obergefell v. Hodges).  As I was reading the summary of the case, there were many things that stood out to me, both from the justices that were for the legalization of same-sex marriage, as well as from the justices who dissented.  I feel that it is very important that we are all informed about the issues that are relevant in society today.  It is easy to develop an opinion without doing the proper research.  Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “Never in the history of the world have we had easier access to more information—some of it true, some of it false, and much of it partially true. Consequently, never in the history of the world has it been more important to learn how to correctly discern between truth and error.” Elder James E. Talmage quoting a newspaper article said, “The man who cannot listen to an argument which opposes his views either has a weak position or is a weak defender of it. No opinion that cannot stand discussion or criticism is worth holding. And it has been wisely said that the man who knows only half of any question is worse off than the man who knows nothing of it. He is not only one sided, but his partisanship soon turns him into an intolerant and a fanatic. In general, it is true that nothing which cannot stand up under discussion and criticism is worth defending.”

It is important that we seek learning and knowledge from credible sources and develop an opinion that we can respectfully share with others.  We also need to be willing to listen to people who have differing opinions from us.  We should try to understand where they are coming from and give them respect.  We don’t have to agree with what other people believe, but we can still love them and show them kindness.  As the views and laws of the world are continually getting farther and farther from God’s laws, we must be willing to stand up for what we believe in and what we know to be correct.  One of my favorite quotes from the dissenting Supreme Court Justices said, “The Court invalidates the marriage laws of more than half the States and orders the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia, for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Carthaginians and the Aztecs. Just who do we think we are?”  The traditional, (and true) definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman has been around for thousands of years.  We must continually stand up for and be advocates for traditional marriage.